Soccer: Kingwood's defense strong as ever

2006 CLASS 5A BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFF PREVIEWGoals are the goal in playoffsKingwood's defense strong as ever, but woes on 'O' make Johnson wary

TODD HVEEM, Chronicle Correspondent

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, March 30, 2006

To hear Kingwood soccer coach Kevin Johnson tell it, his team's defense is ready for a return trip to the Class 5A state finals.

It's the offense, however, that's still in need of fine-tuning.

Or, maybe a complete overhaul.

"We could go to the state tournament," said Johnson, whose team fell to Klein 5-0 in last year's state championship match, "or we could lose in the first round. It all depends on which team shows up."

Kingwood has played some of the best defense in school history during the 2006 season. Johnson has no quarrel on that side of the ball. Trouble is, the Mustangs also have been shut out five times, including last week's 2-0 loss to Round Rock McNeil in a tuneup for the playoffs. The loss dropped Kingwood to 16-4-5.

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"We have given up less goals than in the past. A lot less goals (than some seasons)," Johnson said. Still, "when you get shut out four or five times, it can become kind of frustrating. We just have to keep working hard on both ends of the field and see what happens."

Kingwood, which won the District 22-5A title with a 12-0-2 mark, drew a bye in the first round of the Region III-5A playoffs and is set to take on the winner of the Deer Park-Brazoswood match at 7 p.m. Friday.

"We haven't played or seen either one of them," Johnson said, "but I think the playoffs are going to be very exciting. I don't know what is going to happen."

Johnson said the Mustangs have not played as consistently as they did during their run to the 2005 state finals.

"I don't think we have played anywhere close to last year," he said, "but I don't think we are that far off, either. I think the kids are very capable (of making a long playoff run)."

Humble finished second in the final District 22-5A standings and was scheduled to meet Chavez earlier in the week. Spring, which finished third, was scheduled to meet Westside.

Baytown Lee, which tied Kingwood 1-1 and lost to the Mustangs 1-0, finished fourth.

"Baytown Lee seemed to play really well against us," Johnson said. "It is unfortunate they put all their eggs in one basket. I think Humble did that for years, but they have seemed to snap out of it a little bit."

So, who is the favorite in the Region III-5A tournament?

"I think it is too close to call," Johnson said. "Pearland and Clear Creek are getting a lot of notice. Pearland has two or three guys among the (Houston area) scoring leaders. They gave us a heck of a game last year. If we get past Deer Park or Brazoswood, we could play Pearland (in the third round). It is one of those things where a lot of teams are starting to excel on that new field turf. We should have it (at Turner Stadium) next year, too."